


but there's cars coming closer, and i think they're trying to run me over

by sweetpeasprite



Category: Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I suppose, Near Death, Near Death Experiences, Poisoning, Snow, Whump, based on the ds game, please mind the tags, suffocation, takes place in yule, yes this genuinely happens in the ds game isn't that fucking nuts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-20
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:07:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26017024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweetpeasprite/pseuds/sweetpeasprite
Summary: Someone tries to murder Oliver.This isn't unusual, per say, but the method certainly is.
Relationships: Jairo | Swaine & Maru | Esther & Oliver (Ni no Kuni) & Shizuku | Drippy
Comments: 15
Kudos: 47





	but there's cars coming closer, and i think they're trying to run me over

**Author's Note:**

> title from the song poison by cavetown!! haha get it. get it. d. do you g
> 
> so this actually genuinely happens in the ds game isn't that fucking bizarre? like this HAPPENS

The Winter Isles are two things: pretty, and freezing.

That's what Oliver thinks of it, anyway, having just trudged through snow close to half his height for three miles with no kind of warm or even vaguely winter-based clothing.

He knows Swaine and Drippy (the latter of whom had been trying to bury himself in Oliver's hair for the entire way) aren't as happy to be here as him, and while Esther isn't grumbling as much, she's from Al Mamoon; she must be freezing. Not that Oliver isn't, but he's never seen this much snow before. Nor has he ever seen the aurora - Motorville, shockingly, doesn't usually have it, so understand if he's a little distracted from his benumbed nose and toes. Though, he definitely still wants to get back in the warm.

They had been fighting a lot of familiars on the way through the snow, as well, and while it did help warm them up, it also just tired them out. Particularly Drippy, who had to get off Oliver's shoulders a handful of times to let him fight better, and subsequently got entirely buried in the snow if he wasn't running around to keep his weight off it. A lot of the familiars had ice-based tricks, as well, which does make sense, but just seeped the cold further into all of their bones. While taking a small rest after defeating a particularly tough tadolescent, Oliver squints as he sees a little yellow light far away in the distance, and asks Drippy what it could be. When the fairy sees it, he sighs in relief and tells Oliver it's a town named Yule.

Yule is a bright little spot that's only slightly warmer than the rest of the isle, but it's most likely a good idea to rest before they continue looking for the stone for Mornstar. So Oliver opens his map, and after Drippy helps him work out where they are, he leads the group in a beeline towards it. When Esther and Swaine hear they're heading towards a town, they visibly untense a little, and start to talk more animatedly as they near it.

There are "guards" made out of snow in front of the entrance. Oliver decides he likes this place.

Esther seems as enamoured as Oliver, despite her shivering. "Look at this place! How beautiful," she says, gazing up at the sky as the aurora shimmers above them.

Oliver hums in agreement, staring at the frosty white paths. The snow is reflecting the colours of the aurora somewhat, as well as the light from the igloos. The snow sparkles under the lights' attention, and the ice of the igloos seems to glow. "It's really pretty, huh?" Oliver says, and Swaine sighs from behind him, thankful to take a break from walking.

"Let's go inside, shall we?" he says, and Oliver nods. The snow, flattened by people who came before them, crunches under their feet as they step through the entranceway. Oliver feels Drippy shift on his shoulder as he looks around, lantern jingling. Like a sleigh bell, Oliver thinks, quietly smiling to himself. Fitting.

They haven't gotten very far, however, when a man in a muted pink winter coat comes up to them, beaming, from where he was standing just inside the entrance. "I've found you!" he says, eyes gleaming, and Oliver takes a small step back in mild confusion. "I've  _ finally _ found you - here, please, take this." He places a folded piece of paper into Oliver's hands - not that he can feel it, considering how numb his fingers are.

"Whoa, hey, what's this, all of a sudden?" Swaine says, glancing over Oliver's shoulder at the paper. Esther does the same, resting her chin on his shoulder, seeing as she's shorter than Swaine.

"Is this for me?" Oliver asks the man, and he nods, still smiling. He unfolds the letter, the paragraphs inside made up of neat, cursive handwriting.

_ Dear Oliver and friends, _

_ Welcome to Yule! _

_ My house is the one near the entrance, with the pawprint. Be sure to swing by! _

_ Be careful in the igloos, though. Don't cast any fire related magic, okay? _

_ From: Your biggest fan _

Oliver scrunches his nose up in confusion. "Is this some sort of… invitation? To someone's house?" He traces the little fish signature in the corner with his thumb.

"What're we s'posed to do with this?" Drippy asks, glancing up at the man who had the letter.

The man shrugs. "I'm just the delivery guy. I was told to wait by the entrance every day until a boy with a red cape showed up." He chuckles a bit. "I honestly thought I was being tricked, but then you actually showed up! Sorry I got a little excited."

Oliver smiles. "It's alright."

"I'm afraid other than what's in the letter, I don't know what it's about," he says, ducking his head. "Good luck with that."

The man walks off looking pleased with himself, and Oliver watches him go, before glancing back down at the letter. "What do you want to do, Oliver?" Esther asks, head still on his shoulder. Drippy is starting to look a bit miffed that Oliver's other shoulder is being taken up.

"Uhh…" Oliver turns the letter over in his hands, thinking it over for a moment. "I guess we could take a look."

He continues walking into the town, Esther and Swaine following him in, the former taking her head off his shoulder. Oliver feels Drippy turn to glare at her, and rolls his eyes a little. Yule really is very pretty - it's much brighter than Oliver expected it to be, considering the darkness of the sky. The snow almost looks like it's what's emitting the light. A man in a light brown coat waves to them as they enter properly, and Oliver smiles back at him, then realises the house he's standing in front of has a pawprint engraved above the door. He walks up to the man, still holding the letter and gesturing to Esther and Swaine to stay where they are.

"Uh, excuse me," Oliver says, and the man glances at him. "Do you know who wrote this?" He holds the letter up to the man, who bends down slightly to look it over. His eyes focus on the fish signature in the corner.

"Ah, you have an invite from the Professor?" he says, and Oliver blinks. "She's not in right now, I'm afraid. You'll have to come back later."

"Oh. She lives here, then?" Oliver asks, and the man nods. "Alright, thank you!" He turns and walks back to his friends, folding the letter back up and putting it in his bag for safekeeping.

"What'd he say?" Esther asks, and Oliver opens his mouth to say, but Drippy beats him to it.

"She en't even in. So much for being my "biggest fan", can't even be here to welcome me! Disgraceful, it is," he says, rolling his eyes.

Oliver blinks, glancing at him. "... _ Your _ biggest fan? Mr. Drippy, the letter was addressed to me…"

"Nah, mun, it was addressed to Oliver  _ and friends, _ see? And  _ I _ am your greatest ally, en't I?"

"Who said  _ you _ were his "greatest ally"?" Swaine scoffs, and Oliver can feel Drippy bristling on his shoulder, and so quickly steps in.

"Uh, also, he said that the person who wrote the letter is a professor! So, uh, that's cool…?" he says, and Esther nods.

"That  _ is _ cool! Guys, we've been invited to the home of an actual professor!" she says, and Drippy untenses a little, glancing at Esther. Oliver exhales slightly in relief.

"Well, um, should we explore a bit?" he says, wringing his hands together. "While we wait for the professor, I mean."

"Yes! Shall we?" Esther says, grinning. "This place is so pretty!"

"You  _ really _ wanna explore? In this cold?" Swaine grumbles, stretching and cracking his back. "I'd rather just go straight to the inn."

"Oh, come  _ on, _ Swaine, you're such a downer," Esther groans, rolling her eyes and tugging on his sleeve to try and lead him. "A little snow won't  _ kill _ you."

"Says the girl who's been shivering since we got here," Swaine mutters, but lets himself be tugged along anyway. Oliver smiles, and follows them through the snowy paths, Drippy grumbling on his shoulder about how  _ he _ wants to go to the inn, thanks. (Oliver tells him he can, if he wants to. Drippy goes quiet and re-buries himself in Oliver's hair.)

They make their way through the village, snow crunching under their feet as they do so. Esther runs her hand along one of the igloos, but almost immediately pulls away, hissing that it's cold. Swaine laughs at her, asking what she expected, and she glares at him. The lights inside the ice glow through it, giving the entire town a warm look, and allowing you to see, albeit extremely distorted, the interior of the buildings. There are little brownish flags hanging off the buildings, some of them reading off house numbers, others little shops. Esther turns a corner and gasps.

"Oliver, the Swift Solutions is made of ice!"

Oliver catches up to her and gasps himself as he sees that the Swift Solutions  _ is _ made of ice - the beak and everything. It's not really an igloo, unless you count the bird head, because the building itself isn't round or domed, but it's  _ entirely _ made of ice. There's a layer of snow covering the top of it, and two little snowman birds outside.

"How did they…  _ build _ that?" Oliver asks, gazing up at the beak and windows for eyes.

"I wonder if the Cawtermaster and Hootique are like this as well…" Esther murmurs. Swaine comes up next to them and looks up at it with his hands in his pockets.

He shrugs. "It's just ice." Esther gives him a look. Swaine ignores her, still looking up at the building. "I don't know about you, but I don't particularly feel like doing any bounties right now.  _ I  _ think we should be looking for a winter clothes store."

Esther glares at him some more, when a particularly cold gust of wind blows through the street, and she hunches over, shivering.

Oliver, still staring up at the building, suddenly feels a tug on his cape, and looks to find Esther tugging him down the path and up the ice stairs towards what looks like a town square. Swaine follows up behind them, slower than their running pace. Oliver yelps as Esther reaches up to shake a branch of one of the trees lining the path, snow falling on top of him and Drippy.

Drippy sneezes, shaking his head of the snow as both Oliver and Esther stop in their tracks. "Oi!" he yells, as Esther laughs in their faces. "What the flip, mun? Not like we en't cold enough!"

Oliver brushes his face of snow, looking up at Esther, still laughing. He smiles, giggling slightly as he shakes his head to rid it of frost. "Thanks, Esther."

"You're welcome," she says, grinning. Swaine rolls his eyes as he passes by them, then stops.

"Looks like there's some kind of event going on in the plaza," he says, raising his eyebrows.

"Oh, really?" Esther says, turning around to look.

"Just moving on from our plight then, are we?" Drippy yells. "We're still flippin'  _ freezing _ over by yur!"

Oliver giggles, starting to walk towards the square. "It's okay, Mr. Drippy. It's just a bit of snow."

" _ Just a bit of snow? _ She has  _ dishonoured _ me-"

"Oliver! I think there's an ice cream stand over here!"

Oliver immediately perks up at Esther's shout, and Drippy turns to grumbling to himself instead of loudly voicing his complaints. "Really?" he calls, running over to join them and gasping when he gets up the stairs and sees the square proper.

The town square is more of an oval shape, with igloos surrounding it. There are stalls all along the edges, some selling food, like stew and ice cream, and others selling little souvenirs, and knick-knacks. There looks to be a festival going on. What's most interesting about the town square, however, is the fact the entire floor is made of  _ ice. _

The floor itself looks to be a small lake, entirely frozen over. The ice is clearly thick enough to stand on, considering the amount of people… standing on it, as well as the stalls dotted around it. There are a handful of kids running across the lake and laughing, playing tag while their parents buy them hot drinks. There's even some holes cut out in the ice where people are talking over fishing rods.

Many of the stalls' owners are shouting out sales pitches for their different items. "Last day of the Snow Festival!" calls a salesman near where they're standing. "That means it's also the last day of all-you-can-eat ice cream!"

Esther gasps in delight. "All-you-can-eat? So it's free?" She grabs Oliver's arm through his cape in excitement. "Oliver, we  _ have _ to."

Oliver glances out over the lake. It's frozen. It's  _ frozen. _ There might be liquid under there, but the ice is clearly very thick, and people are standing on it, and they are entirely fine. "Uhh…" he mumbles, not moving.

Esther lets go of his arm, thankfully, before skipping out onto the ice. She slips a little, and Oliver notices that everyone from the town has boots. He wouldn't be surprised if they made the ice less slippery. This, of course, makes him want to go out into the square less.

Swaine follows Esther, but Drippy, still on Oliver's shoulder, notices his hesitation. "Oi, you going or what?" Oliver takes a tentative step towards the ice, before hesitating again. Drippy groans. "Well, if you're not going to get  _ free ice cream, _ I'll just have to go get some myself." He hops off Oliver's shoulder, directly onto the ice. This proves to be a bad plan, considering exactly one second later, he's slipped and fallen flat on his lantern.

Drippy doesn't turn around to witness Oliver giggling at him, too busy wrapped in his own humiliation. He also doesn't turn around to witness something furry hit the back of Oliver's head.

Oliver yelps, and puts his hand to the back of his neck, but whatever it was is gone. He looks around, and he thinks he might catch a glimpse of grey and yellow running down the other path leading away from the lake, but the sudden sharp pain in the back of his head makes him wince away, and he writes it off. He turns to look back at Drippy, and his vision goes blurry for a second. The pain in his head fades after a moment, but not entirely.

"Oi, Ollie-boy!" Drippy's voice shouts, and Oliver startles, even though he was already looking at him. Weird. Everything's just... a little fuzzier. "You just gonna stand there, or?"

"Uhh. Hah, yeah, um…" Oliver says. He's just zoning out a little, he's fine. "Be- be right there."

He steps out onto the ice. It's not as slippery as he expected it to be, but he's still definitely not comfortable with the fact it is over liquid. Still, he manages to make his way over, only almost falling again once, slightly weak vision and all.

"Oliver, hey!" Esther says, a half-eaten ice cream cone in her hand. "You  _ have _ to try this, it's really good!"

The vendor holds out an ice cream to Oliver, smiling at him. Oliver gives him a weak smile back as he takes it, leaning on the stand in an attempt to regain his balance.

"What's going on with you?" Swaine asks, making Oliver jump and look at him. One of his eyebrows is raised.

"I, uhh… it's fine. I'm fine," Oliver says, and Esther and Drippy glance at him as well. He gives a wobbly laugh. His headache is getting worse, and he feels a bit sick. He'll be fine, though, he's sure. "Just, uh, zoning out, for some reason. I'll be fine."

Swaine gives him a suspicious look. "If you say so," he mutters, returning to his ice cream.

Oliver swallows, before taking a lick of his ice cream. It really is very good - too bad his head feels like it's going to explode. His breathing is getting heavier as well. He isn't  _ quite _ sure what's happening, but he's fine. He bites the ice cream again, and tries to keep his mind off of his nausea. He'll be fine - it's probably just a little cold coming on, or something. He's sure of it.

His vision goes sideways and he falls, managing to grab the edge of the stand with both hands before he hits the ground, dropping his ice cream in the process.

He's not so sure anymore.

Oliver's breathing gets heavier and faster as he clings onto the side of the stand. He can't breathe. He keeps trying to take in oxygen, but his lungs start burning. He's hit with the very sudden and real thought of  _ I'm going to die. _

He hears Esther and Drippy saying his name. He coughs a few times, harshly, finally sinking down to sit on the ice as he does so, clutching the tunic covering his chest in a panic. His friends start to sound more frantic. Oliver barely hears them - his only thought is that he is  _ going to die, he can't breathe, he can't breathe, why can't he  _ breathe-

Drippy grabs his arm, frantic. Oliver looks down at him, unable to make eye contact as his vision starts fading around the edges. Something in his expression must scare him, because Drippy's eyes widen and he looks  _ terrified. _ Oliver, with difficulty, swallows. He doesn't want Drippy to be upset, even if he is about to die. He tries to take a breath, tries to speak to reassure him, but his throat makes a noise like a dying cat, not allowing the air to get through his airways. Oliver realises he's suffocating, and that he is  _ feeling himself suffocating _ with nothing he can do about it. He panics more, hands scrabbling at his throat, as if it would help.

Oliver loses the strength to stay upright, and falls onto his side, curling up like a dead spider. Esther starts shrieking, and he thinks Swaine grabs his shoulder and shakes him. He can't breathe. He can't  _ breathe he's going to die he's going to die he's going to- _

The last thought Oliver has before he finally succumbs is that he wasn't able to save his mom.

\---

_ "How good of you to pay me a visit. The Great Sage Alicia… and alone, no less." _

_ Alicia grunts, holding her staff out in front of her in preparation. Shadar cackles. _

_ "You have come to fight me, have you? You, a single sage? Alone? How very unwise." _

_ She doesn't back down, continuing to glare up at the Dark Djinn, waiting for him to speak again, or do something. _

_ "You cannot amount to anything on your own. Compared to me, my magic? You are nothing. You have no power here!" _

_ Alicia swallows. Shadar sighs, as though disappointed in the sage she has become. _

_ "I'm done talking with you. Time for you to face… true darkness!" _

_ Shadar takes out a glass, purple ball, decorated with gold. Her eyes widen, and she gasps as he raises it, the magic starting to take hold of her soul to trap it, ensnare it in the prison. _

_ Alicia screams as a white light leaves her body. _

\---

The first thing Oliver notices when he wakes up is that he has a weird taste in his mouth. The second thing is that he still feels sick, so he assumes he hasn't died. Yet.

The first thing Oliver  _ hears _ when he wakes up is Esther's voice shouting that he's waking up, presumedly to the others. She is loud. His headache isn't entirely gone. He whines a little, and she quietens down. Oliver blinks his eyes open, staring out at wherever he is fuzzily. Esther and Swaine look down at him where he's lying on a bed of furry brown blankets, and as the room comes into focus, he realises he's in one of the igloos, and a nice one at that. He raises his head and looks around, his eyes slowly coming into focus. The igloo has a big pot in the middle, with some fish hanging on hooks coming from the ceiling near it. There's a fire pit under the pot, along with kitchen utensils beside it. The bed Oliver is laying on takes up a little alcove in the igloo, and he notices that there's another nearby. There's a handful of shelves made up of ice and snow, and winter coats hanging on the walls. Drippy jumps up onto the bed beside him, and he startles a little.

"Oliver?" Esther says, and he glances up at her. "Are you okay?"

Well. He can breathe again. So he counts that as a plus. He opens his mouth to speak, but coughs into his hand instead. "Ugh, I think… I think 'm okay." His raspy voice is met with three disbelieving stares, and he swallows. "'M sorry if I made you worry. I'm fine."

Swaine snorts. "Sure, Oliver, and I'm a Great Sage." Oliver presses his lips together. He  _ is _ fine. He doesn't protest, though.

"Where…  _ are _ we, anyway?" He asks, sitting up very slowly and yet still getting some black around the edges of his vision as he does so.

"Well, when you, uh, collapsed," Esther starts, voice shaking slightly at the word "collapsed", "someone was walking by, and she saw what happened and told us to follow her."

"We… didn't really have a choice," Swaine says, crossing his arms. "You… stopped breathing. It was terrifying," he admits. Oliver ducks his head, wincing. It  _ was _ terrifying.

"Didn't get her name in the chaos, but it's the igloo near the entrance, see?" Drippy gestures to the room around them. "Think she's the professor?"

"Whoever she is," Esther says before Oliver can reply, "She made you eat something, and you started breathing again. She said she had to go back out for errands, but that was a bit ago… She'll be back soon, I'm sure." Oliver hums, though the noise comes out scratchy. That's what the weird taste is, then.

The group is quiet for a moment while Oliver takes in the new information. He glances at each of their faces, taking in their worried expressions. "Are… you guys okay?"

They stare at him for a moment. "Are  _ we _ okay?" Swaine says, in disbelief. Oliver shrinks down a little. Swaine sighs. "Really. How do you feel?"

"I'm okay, I think," Oliver says, sitting up more and ignoring how his vision goes dark for a second. "I, uh… I think I'm just tired from all the travelling we've been doing." He smiles at them, though it's slightly weaker than normal. "I'll be fine. I have been up 'til now."

His smile fades slightly as they all look at him with incredulity. Swaine looks off to the side after a moment, putting one of his hands to his face in pure disbelief. "You're  _ just tired? _ " Drippy says after a good few seconds, gaping at him. "That's good, seeing as we're staying here for the next few days. Get in lots of sleep, won't you, Ollie-boy?"

"What? No," Oliver protests. "We gotta find the next stone, we can't stay."

"Oliver, you  _ stopped breathing, _ " Esther points out, and Oliver hates that point because he can't exactly refute it. "We don't even know what  _ happened _ to you. You need to rest."

"But I-" Oliver fiddles with his cape slightly, eyebrows scrunching up. "I'm okay, really, look." He shuffles to the edge of the bed and puts his feet on the ground, starting to stand up. "See? I'm fi-"

He is immediately cut off by the room turning sideways, and a thick border around his vision going entirely black. He inhales sharply, only realising he's lost his balance entirely when it's too late, and he falls forward. He hears Esther shout, but before he hits the ground he's caught by something green.

Swaine helps him up, then pushes him back so he's sitting back on the bed. "You're  _ fine? _ " he says, voice dry, but his expression is worried. Oliver waits for his vision to return fully before he ducks his head, sheepish. That… was scary. He wasn't expecting it at all.

"I…  _ feel _ fine," he murmurs, and it's… almost a lie, considering he still feels a  _ bit _ nauseous (...a lot nauseous), but he feels fine  _ enough. _ He starts to stand up again.

"Don't-" Esther pushes him back. "Don't do it  _ again! _ Oliver, really!" Oliver is glad she did, if he's honest, because even just the miniscule amount he  _ did _ stand up was enough to blur his vision.

Drippy hops onto Oliver's lap, assumedly to stop him from getting up. Again. "You're thick as a flippin' brick sometimes, Ollie-boy, honestly," he grumbles, plonking himself down on his knee. Oliver automatically reaches his hand up to rest on Drippy's head.

Oliver bites his lip. "I… I  _ will _ be fine," he finally concedes.

The door to the igloo clicks open, and a grimalkin woman in a green coat and round glasses bustles in, carrying grocery bags. Her ears perk up when she sees Oliver sitting up. "He's come around, I see!" she says, smiling. "I do apurrlogise for having to leave so suddenly, I just had to get my groceries for the week before the shops closed."

"Oh, hey, this is the person who saved you!" Esther says, smiling. Oliver blinks up at the grimalkin, before smiling.

"Oh, it was nothing, really," the grimalkin says, placing the bags beside the pot in the middle of the room. "I myerely gave him an antidote for Cat Killer poison."

The room goes deathly silent as everyone stares at her. The word "poison" in Oliver's brain registers a few seconds after she says it, and he swallows, and his breathing gets a bit faster as he realises what it means.

"Sorry, poison?" Swaine says, voice an octave higher than usual.

“Indeed. Cat Killer is a poison myeant to slowly kill a grimalkin over three days, but for other species it usually takes a more… sudden effect, even purrhaps suffocating them immediately.” She smiles in an attempt to reassure, but the group just stares in horror. “It’s a kind of cyanide, so it stops the body from using oxygen. But, now that I’ve given you the antidote, there’s purrsotively no need to worry.”

Oliver stares, vision going out of focus as his brain registers what happened. Poison. He was poisoned. Someone tried to  _ kill him, _ and while that's not exactly  _ unusual _ per say, it  _ is _ unusual for it to be by something like… poison. Usually it's just… physically attacking him. Not to mention they don't know who it could be…

"Who could… what…?" Esther's voice sounds as shaky as Oliver feels.

The grimalkin climbs the steps up to Oliver's bed, tail swishing behind her as she does so. "How are you feeling?" she asks, politely ignoring the fact all four of them look like they've seen a ghost. "It will take a few days to purrfectly recover, I'm afraid…"

"Uh," Oliver says, still hung up on the fact someone tried to kill him and almost succeeded, "I'm… I'm fine." He's not, really, considering that the fact he was  _ poisoned _ is making his stomach turn even more than it did before, but he will be fine, and that's what counts.

"Good, good," she says softly. "Cat's Killer is a mouse's work. It's one of their legendary poisons." Great, Oliver thinks weakly. That kinda rules out it being Shadar. He's not sure whether to be relieved that the Dark Djinn himself isn't (actively) trying to kill him, or to be scared that he has  _ no _ idea who it could be, no clue how powerful they are. The grimalkin hums under her breath. "Why would this happen to Oliver?" she murmurs.

There's a moment before Esther steps in front of Oliver, in an almost protective stance, looking up at the grimalkin warily. Oliver almost points out he doesn't need to be protected, but bites his lip. "We never told you his name…" Esther says, watching her.

"Hey, yeah, wait a minute, what the hell?" Swaine says, handing hovering over his gun, and Oliver thinks they are definitely overreacting considering this is the person who saved him.

The grimalkin chuckles slightly nervously, taking a step back. "Yes, I know his name," she says. "I was the one who sent the letter - did you get it?"

"Oh! Yes, we did," Oliver says, then glances up at Esther and Swaine. "Guys, we  _ are _ in the igloo the letter pointed us to." He looks up at them, and Esther has the sense to look sheepish and step back, but Swaine only takes his hand away from his side and squints at her. "Swaine," Oliver murmurs, and he rolls his eyes and steps away.

The grimalkin ducks her head. "I've been hearing about your adventures since you left Ding Dong Dell, you see," she says, "Every purrsotive little thing about you and your friends."

Oliver blinks, eyebrows knitting together in confusion and slight worry. "...How are… how are you hearing about us?"

"Oh, we all have, through the Daily Yarn."

"The Daily Yarn, is it?" Drippy pipes up from Oliver's lap. "Heard of that, I have. How grimalkins learn what's going on in the world, en't it?"

"Indeed!" the grimalkin smiles. "Us grimalkin love to purroceed to new places, new heights, you see. But we always want to keep in touch with places we used to be, with the level of detail a grimalkin can describe. So we purroduced the Daily Yarn to hear about the world!" She gasps, tail swishing back and forth for a moment. "My apologies, I haven't even told you my name. I'm Purrofessor Tabitha. It's a true pleasure to meet you all."

"Drippy, Lord High Lord of the Fairies," Drippy says, putting a tiny fist to his chest.

Tabitha smiles. "I know."

Oliver glances back down at Drippy after she says that. He looks far too happy to be recognised. "Well, uh," Oliver says, putting Drippy off to the side and starting to stand up, "Thank you so much, Profess-"

His vision goes dark again, but he manages to fall and stumble backwards onto the bed this time. "Forgot I can't do that," he mumbles.

Esther, Swaine and Drippy all look at him in worry, and Tabitha grimaces. "Yes, you'll take a few days to fully recover, as I myentioned," she murmurs.

Oliver presses his lips together and sighs through his nose. He doesn't particularly want to be stuck in Yule for the next few days, but he can't really… stand up, so he guesses he has to.

"As I was… gonna say," he starts again, "Thank you so much, Professor, I… really can't thank you enough. I… was going to leave for the inn, but…"

Swaine hums. "I suppose I'll have to carry you again."

He moves to do so, but Tabitha shakes her head, holding her paws up. "Oh, goodness, no, please, you're welcome to stay here as long as you like. It would be an honour to house the saviour, after all."

Oliver blinks up at her. "We wouldn't want to be any trouble…" he says, cautiously.

"It's quite alright!" Her tail swishes back and forth as she smiles at the group. "Oh, if you ever want to go back out, I do believe I have some purrfectly good spare winter coats somewhere…"

"Warm in here, though, en't it?" Drippy says, and now that Oliver's sat back down again and isn't planning on leaving, he climbs back onto his lap. Clingy today, Oliver thinks absentmindedly. "Warmer than I thought it'd be, if I'm honest. It is ice, and all that."

"Yes! I thought it would be just as cold as outside, but it's not!" Esther grins.

Swaine is still shivering a tiny bit. "I'll take the coat," he grumbles. Esther gives him an unimpressed look.

Tabitha purrs in amusement. "I'll go get them for you now," she says, tail swishing as she moves to the other side of the room.

The group watches her quietly for a few moments, before Oliver swallows and murmurs, "So, uh… poison, huh?"

Drippy looks up at him, opening his mouth then closing it again. Esther presses her lips together, and Swaine doesn't look at him. Oliver doesn't mind their responses. He knows they're just worried.

"Someone tried to… to poison me," Oliver says, slowly, "to, um… kill me, and- and they're still… they're still out there." No response. "And, uh, they're- most likely a mouse. So, uh… tiny. And… we have no idea who… who it could be," Oliver's throat gets slightly tighter as he speaks, "or if they're going to try again, or why they're after me, or if they're… if they're after  _ all of us, _ if-" he sniffles slightly, "-if they're after any of  _ you, _ or… or…" The lump in his throat finally stops him from speaking, and he wipes away gathering tears with his thumb. Drippy leans back into his torso, trying to offer some semblance of comfort.

There's silence for a moment while Oliver collects himself. "Well," Esther starts, fiddling with the edge of her skirt, "I suppose we'll just… have to be on guard."

Oliver barks a wet laugh. "Be on guard? For what, free ice cream?"

"Do you think it was the ice cream?" Swaine asks.

Oliver thinks for a minute, biting his lip. "No," he says finally, "there was something before that. I think something hit the back of my head… uh…" He looks up at the ceiling, trying to remember, then shakes his head. "It's… it's a bit fuzzy."

"Hit the back of your head?" Esther asks.

"Yes, Cat's Killer can be administered through the skin," Tabitha says, coming back to Oliver's bed carrying four coats, one bigger than the rest, and one significantly smaller than the rest. She begins handing them out to everyone. Esther looks particularly delighted to receive hers. "Using it is purrosecutable in Ding Dong Dell, but that doesn't stop the rats from doing so."

Oliver runs his fingers over his own blue coat, big and cozy. He flexes his fingers a little. He still feels kind of weak from the poison, and he exhales slightly in frustration. If he's the pure-hearted one, shouldn't he have recovered by now? His eyelids droop a bit, and he hums, before it stretches into a yawn. Everyone turns to look at him. "I'm not tired," he says, a bit too quickly.

Drippy jumps up immediately, ready to snap at him. "Oh, yeah? Not tired, are you? Not tired, Ollie-boy? Well, I coulda sworn I heard you say you were  _ just tired _ earlier!" Oliver shrinks back as Drippy gets in his face. "Could have  _ sworn _ it! Coulda sworn you said it was the reason you  _ collapsed, _ and that it  _ wasn't _ the  _ cyanide! _ "

Drippy takes a breath to keep going, but Esther picks him up before he can. "That's a bit… harsh," she says, and Drippy glares at her and wiggles out of her grip to get back on the bed, "but you do need to rest, Oliver."

"Myes, you will recover quicker if you sleep," Tabitha says. "The poison will make you weaker than normal, I'm afraid. I have some extra blankets if you would purrfer more?"

Swaine opens his mouth, but Oliver cuts in with, "Okay, okay, I get the message. I'm fine though, guys, seriously." He's not. He still feels ill. But again: he  _ will _ be fine. That's what matters.

Drippy squints at him. " _ Sleep, _ " he says, pointing fiercely at the pillow. Oliver sighs, giving his coat to Swaine, and he slowly lies down, yawning again. Maybe he is a  _ little _ tired.

Tabitha wanders over to the middle of the room, starting a fire in the firepit there. "Have a nice rest, Oliver," Esther says, and she and Swaine walk over to join Tabitha, the latter putting on his coat as Esther quietly rolls her eyes at him. Oliver watches them for a minute, then looks at Drippy as he grabs the blanket to put over himself.

"'Re you staying?" he murmurs, and Drippy looks away for a moment, but then lies down next to him. "Mkay." Oliver makes sure the blanket covers him, too.

His headache still isn't gone, Oliver realises, now that he has a chance to think. He sighs. Being poisoned isn't fun. He blinks his eyes before closing them, slowly drifting off into sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> THIS HAPPENS. IN THE DS GAME. the reason i rewrote it though is because while oliver does genuinely say the line "i was just tired" NONE OF HIS FRIENDS, LIKE, CARE? THAT HE COLLAPSED? AND STOPPED BREATHING? WILD. they're just like "haha! that's our oliver!" and then they MOVE ON like he was NEVER FATALLY POISONED
> 
> yell at me on tumblr: @sweetpea-sprite  
> or on twitter: @demidemipancake


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